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  • ‘Funding safer skies is key to AfDB’

    Funding and collaboration among African countries is key to delivering safer skies on the continent and for its air transport sector to deliver as a catalyst for economic development. The Chief Executive Officer/Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Akin Olateru, says to acieve this requires a mix of capacity development, right equipment, processes and systems. He spoke with select aviation reporters. KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR was there.

    What has changed in the agency since you came in 2017?

    I will start by saying this. Whatever you think, whatever you feel, all the actions you take in life are majorly influenced by two things: first, your beliefs and second, your values. These two components in a way shape our decisions in life and, in turn, shape our lives. That is life. When I came in, in January 2017, AIB was at its lowest ebb. I inherited disgruntled staff, a poorly-funded agency. An agency of government you can say, in terms of performance, scored below 35 per cent. Today, I stand tall because of our achievements since we came into government.

    When I came in, we had to work on our beliefs and values. On the human elements or human capital, we did a lot and part of the improvements we made in our human capital was training and retraining, changing the mindset of our investigators.

    We moved away from our individualistic way of doing things to a group way of doing things, training them to know the effect of good team work.

    How have you leveraged team work and collaboration to enhance capacity development ?

    These are one of the key things we concentrated on. In doing that, we needed the assistance and support of great institutions around the world. It makes sense to learn from the best and we approached some nations, institutions at that time. I stand today to tell you that the United States Government has been our greatest ally and greatest supporters through the National Transport Safety Bureau (NTSB). They have been in reality a major pillar of support. They have supported us with everything humanly possible through the Managing Director then, Mr. Dennis Jones, who has been to Nigeria to train our investigators with his team. The US government through the Safe Skies for Africa programme supported us immensely. We have other nations who didn’t believe in us. I really sincerely want to thank the US government, especially the NTSB and, most especially Mr. Dennis Jones, who is a gift to the world. He has been a major pillar of support. Without them, maybe, we won’t be where we are.

    How many memorandum of understanding did Accident Investigation Bureau sign with other countries?

    Today, we have nations signing Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Nigeria, believing in what we do and want to emulate us, want us to support them. They want us to work with them, they want to share from our experience. We have South Africa, we have Saudi Arabia, we have Gabon. Tshere are talks ongoing on partnership with these nations. Currently, we have signed an MoU with France, Benin Republic, Sao Tome and Principe and in the next one month, we will be signing with Saudi Arabia. These are great nations. But to me, you must have something sellable; you must have something they see in you that they admire in you before they want to sign an MoU with you.

    What is the infrastructure profile of the Bureau ?

    In terms of infrastructure, you will agree with me that there are four key elements to that irrespective of the industry or the sector. The four major components are human capital, infrastructure, equipment and systems processes and procedure. You need to score seven and half over 10 in each of these components. It takes time to build all these four key elements. Today, I can tell you in terms of equipment, AIB is one of the best in the world. I thank the Senator Hadi Sirika, the past Minister of State for Transportation, now Minister of Aviation, for his belief and support for making it happen. We are rated among the first 10 in the world in terms of equipment and capabilities. Our flight safety laboratory in terms of equipment, we are rated one of the best. In terms of infrastructure, we are rated 7/10.

    What is the human capital component like in the Bureau ?

    In terms of human capital, we have over 30 well-trained investigators in Nigeria. The whole of West Africa has no fewer than 30 investigators. So, you can understand the number. In terms of systems and processes, we are rated 8/10. We are independent. This is one thing that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) calls for nations to have accident investigation bureau that is independent of the civil aviation authority and that was passed by the parliament in 2006 through the Civil Aviation Act 2006, which gave birth to AIB.

    When will AIB be multimodal in terms of accident investigation?

    We are working on the possibility and the approval of AIB going multimodal. Going multimodal means we are going to be investigating not just the air accident, we are going to be investigating rail accidents, we are going to be investigating marine accidents and road accidents. We are joining nations around the world who operate this multimodal system of operations.

    How did this come about ?

    Last year, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved our proposal – the new draft bill for AIB. Before the Senate went on recess, this bill is already in the Senate and hopefully, before the end of this year, this bill will be passed and that would make AIB Nigeria one of the top nations that do multimodal. We have reviewed just two months ago, we reviewed that to take care of all those gaps.

    If you stay stagnant, the world will go past you. I came in January 2017, if you count the number of reports we have released, they are all on our website. AIB, since 2017, has released 58 per cent of the total number of releases done since the creation of the agency since 2007. In terms of release of final reports, we have done 58 per cent. The main reason AIB is set up is to investigate accidents and serious incidents and to come up with safety recommendations to prevent future occurrence. If you don’t release those reports on time, you are doing a disservice to the entire industry because there won’t be lessons to learn. How do you prevent the reoccurrence? By the time you are issuing your safety recommendations, may be four or five years later, the airline may not even be in operation. When I assumed office, I said no report will go beyond 18 months except in an extremely special case, which we have not had.We are like the backend of the operations unlike the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) that is visible. We influence safety through the backend. Our work is extremely important because we are the only institution that can investigate NCAA to see where there are lapses or gaps and to proffer safety recommendations to NCAA on how to do things better.

    What ground work have you done on the multimodal system you are proposing?

    When you look at accident investigation, the techniques are the same; whether it is marine or rail, the techniques are the same. How do we prevent future occurrence? When I said training, in the last one year, we have sent 30 of our investigators to Cranfield University to train on multimodal accident investigation. They are back in Nigeria. We have another two going in September to complete the cycle. We are working closely with the US NTSB. Singapore NTSB is working with us on this. As we speak, we have a relationship with NTSB, as some of our investigators go there for on-the-job-training, just to learn on the job, not just read books or sit in the classroom, but to actually be present with the US investigators to support us on that. Another thing you have to understand is that we will take on some rail staff from Nigeria Railways Corporation (NRC), the same thing with maritime and road and train them on how to investigate accidents properly. Those are the programmes we have in place to ensure we get there. It is not going to happen overnight. It takes time to build institutions. I can confidently say to you that AIB is a world-class institution.

    How comfortable will it be for AIB to investigate incidents or accidents in other modes of transportation when they don’t have FDR, CVR?

    Most ships have devices in the form of recording systems, but for cars, no. However, there are better ways to investigate car accidents beyond a recorder.

    I want to look at what your manpower will be when you begin with the multi-modal project? Will you be operating from the airport here?

    Currently, if you understand how we were set up, we have four office locations in the country. We are in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Kano. You don’t build Rome in one day. This will be a gradual process. We need to first of all utilise  the maximum of what we have first before we do a proper need assessment whether we are going to increase our point or we are good at four points, but these are decisions that will be taken in a later stage. I cannot really comment on that now.

    The Safe Skies for Africa Programme sponsored by the US Government in the past 21 years has finally come to an end. What do you think can be done among African nations to sustain this safety and security initiative?

    Today comes the end of our programme where we brought in African nations to join us in aviation safety programme sponsored by AIB in conjunction with Safe Skies Africa, which is a department of transportation and the NTSB. Unfortunately, the programme has come to an end. The US government will no longer sponsor the safe skies programme. It is very unfortunate. Africa has really benefited from this programme and I think we, Africans, should put heads together on how we can help ourselves. We have the African Development Bank (AfDB), which under corporate social responsibility can take up this programme to help Africans. When an aeroplane goes down, it does not distinguish nations.  This is why we owe it to ourselves, the whole world, to work together and strengthen aviation and make it a safer place to be.

    Why do you think the US Government decided to end the Safer Skies for Africa programme and how can AfDB come in?

    That is a very good one. I cannot speak on behalf of the US government on why they decided to stop sponsoring or funding the Safe Skies project for Africa. All I know is that we were told that the project has stopped. On AfDB, I make bold to say, this is my initiative of getting them to sponsor this project to the benefits of African nations. I had a meeting with Bernard Aliu, the President of the International Civil Aviation Organisaton (ICAO) two months ago in Montreal, Canada. I had a discussion with him on how AfDB can continue to be sponsoring this project through ICAO because AfDB will not just release money to AIB, it has to be an independent organisation, which is ICAO and it is not only for Nigeria, but to African nations.

    There will be another meeting in the next ICAO Assembly on the clear-cut modality to get this done. Talks are still on, on how to make this work.

    Earlier, you spoke about the various MoUs AIB has signed with some countries. Could you tell us what these MoUs tend to achieve?

    I will give you an example of the Sao Tome and Principe. The last accident that occurred in Sao Tome was ceded to Nigeria to investigate. We investigated that accident and the final report was released 12 months after the accident. That gave my investigators some kind of exposure. You need to understand what accident investigation is all about. There are no two accidents that are the same. They may look alike, but if you look critically, you will see that there are other things you need to learn as you go along. That is one thing strengthening your technical competence. Take France, for instance. France wants Nigeria to help the francophone African countries and their MoU is to look at how they can strengthen AIB either through training, equipment. Come November, there is training dedicated for our investigators from France to go to France and learn something. Don’t forget, when you talk aviation, France is one of the leading countries in the world. They have majority shares in Airbus and there are many activities in France. There is so much we can learn from France.

    Take Saudi Arabia, for instance; it is just because of the ongoing hajj, our agreement would have been signed because we have got ‘okay clearance’ from the Ministry of Justice to go ahead and sign the agreement. Saudi Arabia has some expertise that we need and they are happy to come to Nigeria to train our team on that.

    What area will the training address ?

    What they will be coming to train us on is looking beyond the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). We have met; we have discussed everything on the CVR and FDR. You need to look beyond that and that can help to make your report much better.

    For the Republic of Benin, what they have signed is to say whenever there is an accident, we should come and help them. They don’t have anything on ground, so they told us, if we have training, we should please include them. We have an agreement with Gambia through Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA). Today, we have helped Gambia to set up an accident investigation agency. We supported them in writing their regulations, the Act, the whole work. We even helped them with our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). They came to Nigeria, they sat with us and we put them through. Today, it has been passed by their parliament. These are the kind of things we are doing to help them.

    Earlier, you said when you came on board in 2017, you met a bureau that was poorly funded. Is the bureau properly funded today?

    If you look at most government institutions, they are funded from the government coffers, but through the ingenuity of the past Minister of State Aviation, vis-a-vis the challenges of AIB at the time, we came up with a modality, which was more of a stop gap measure, a temporary arrangement to fund AIB’s operations through a special intervention fund. But, the permanent solution to that is once our bill is approved and that is when we are going to have a permanent solution in terms of proper funding.

    A committee was set up recently to find out how your recommendations assist with safety. Are you satisfied with that?

    I was the chairman of that committee to look into the implementation and effectiveness of those safety recommendations that AIB has issued since inception and we came up with the final result of 62 per cent of safety recommendations that were implemented. Partially implemented were 18 per cent and the rest were not. You need to understand one thing. Safety recommendations can be issued to an airline. For instance, there was a helicopter crash, the first safety recommendation issued to that company was a Bell Helicopter. Unfortunately, the company went burst even before the safety recommendations came out.Will you count that that was implemented? The answer is no. Some safety recommendations may not be implemented because of cost.

    What is the realationship with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority?

    For us and NCAA, I have had a meeting with the Director-General of NCAA, we have agreed on how to work on an MoU basis. We have sent in a proposal and we are waiting for his response because AIB and NCAA need to work together as a team on MoU that will guide our relationship. For clarity sake, I have read some things in the newspapers when somebody said NCAA doesn’t have to implement AIB’s recommendations. It is either the person doesn’t understand aviation or how things work from AIB’s perspective or just trying to be mischievous. I will tell you the process.

    What is the procedure adopted before accident reports are released?

    When we are done with our investigation, we send the final draft to NCAA, among other stakeholders, for their review and we give them 60 days to come back to us to tell us why they are not implementable. We don’t just issue safety recommendations for issuing sake.We give the stakeholders opportunity to comment. That is why we call it 60 days window. We are trying to shorten it to 30 days, so that our reports can be out on time. You can imagine you completed reports and you have to give 60 days; that is two months just for stakeholders to read, comment and get back to you. You need to trust AIB.

    We need to build a world-class institution so that when we talk, you will listen. This is what we have been doing in the last two- and-half years to make sure that AIB is a credible institution that everybody would listen when we talk. That is very important. It is the same thing all over the world. The US NTSB doesn’t have it in their regulations that if you don’t comply, they will send you to jail. We are making it easy, we work with you. We give you time to assess our recommendations and discuss with us if you think it is not right.

    What template do you intend to adopt in handling investigation of road crashes?

    On the road, I will give you an example that there is a crash and the vehicle somersaulted, which was caused by a huge ditch or pothole on the road and we issue a safety recommendation to Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to fix the ditch. We will work with FERMA, the same thing we are doing with NCAA. Once that pothole is fixed, this is how you can prevent all these needless deaths. People die every day on our roads. The problem is that nobody investigated anything, nobody checks anything, nobody says this is what we need to do to prevent future occurrence. We’ve heard of tanker fire accidents many times; have you read any recommendation on how to prevent it? These are the things we are going to fix. The people that don’t want to comply, it is either they don’t know or they just don’t want to comply. We found out more that people don’t just know.

    Some people think accident investigation is about witch-hunting, but it is not. It is about to help the individual airlines to make sure you reduce these bad images, you are not getting this bad press. If you stop having these reoccurrence, then you reduce the exposure to bad news. It is in the interest of everybody, including the flying public.

     

  • Ondo 2020: I will contest against Akeredolu

    Former Ondo State Commissioner for Information Banji Ayiloge has unfolded his governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with DAMISI OJO, the former Director-General, Aketi Campaign Organisation during the 2012 election, speaks on his ambition and how the party can retain the state in next year’s poll..

    There will be governorship election in Ondo State next year. What are your plans?

    Let me declare through this medium that I will be running for governor of Ondo State. Before I go further, let me say that I am the most qualified of all the people running for the post, including Akeredolu himself. It is about time Ondo State had a well-travelled, well-read, clear-headed and definitely tenacious person to become governor. Nigerian politics is not like those in the organised parts of the world where you can back someone for office and play a good part in the background to usher in development. I know I have a deserved reputation for steadfastness and  passion to implement good developmental programmes. When these personal traits are pitted against someone with lesser skills and personal agenda. My professional degree is economic development. I was educated both in Nigeria and the United States and had worked in the public and private sectors – both in Nigeria and in the United States. It will not only be a personal loss for me, if I do not utilise my experience to uplift my people; it will be a colossal loss to the people of Ondo State.

    If you take a closer look at those who have signified their intention to run, they do not have  comparable set of skills that I have in abundance. You have a defense attorney who has not run anything other than a small law firm of a few junior lawyers running the state. At every turn, we now realize that he lacks any appreciable managerial skill, the finesse in dealing with people, coupled with a penchant for clannishness. Undoubtedly, Governor Akeredolu’s nepotism will have a long lasting debilitating effect on the people. But, we can still arrest the situation before he does more damage. We must make sure that Ondo State bounces back from the spiral fall it has been experiencing for the last two decades. The need to reposition it to its prime place among the states in the country is of paramount importance to me. Right now, Ondo State is only a pawn to outside interests and must be rescued for the sake of our fatherland.

    Recently, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was in Akure to reconcile aggrieved factions within the party. What is your assessment of the parley?

    I will say that the parley was a complete failure. I am not one of those who would hide behind some diplomatic double-speak to describe what has happened. In Ondo State, there is no reconciliation yet. I will tell you the reason. During the meeting, it was agreed upon that an ad hoc committee comprising of all factions be set up to manage the affairs of the party with the aim of reconciling everybody. That committee would then be charged with the task of planning a new congress to replace Adetimehin’s leadership, which in actual fact, is the “Team Aketi” group. Akeredolu grudgingly accepted this condition at the meeting. Ever since the meeting, Akeredolu has vacillated in implementing this very important decision of party leaders. Akeredolu may not be sagacious, but he knows that new executive members in the state comprising  all factions may spell doom for his second term ambition. He is now stalling and maneuvering to buy some others over to his camp.

    Now, let us look at the situation on the ground in the state today. Team Aketi has a paltry 30 percent of the people in the party. The concerned party members constitute the other 70 percent. The task of the 70 percent is being made easier by the day because of the ineptitude of the governor. I am one of the concerned leaders meeting at Ali Olanusi’s house. We intend to build on our achievement so far and move the state forward. I must also say that by involving the APC leaders first, we have shown that we have the interest of the party at heart. If the leaders buckled to the pressure of the governor and ensure his nomination the second time, then all options are open to us.

    Governor Akeredolu is in his third year. What is your assessment of the administration?

    The Akeredolu’s administration is the worse so far in the history of the state. This is why all hands must be on deck to see to the end of the retrogressive administration. For the first time since the military administration, we have a governor that lacks political and managerial skills. Moreover, it is highly clannish and avaricious.  His son is in charge of the state’s IGR. The saying in Ondo State is that you can only have access to state contracts if you are from far away Imo state (where the wife comes from) than if you are a citizen of Ondo State. Even among the people of Owo, his home town, he has a only a coterie of friends who have formed the clique of favored elite. We must therefore, end the unholy racket currently that is currently going on in the state.

    The governor has a pocket of people, especially on the social media chorusing the slogan that he is performing. Most of these people cannot say what the performances are but they say the governor is performing. Most of what are being done in the state at present is designed to misappropriate money from the covers of the government. The spate of roadway dressings – which the state calls constructions, is a case in point. Obviously, Ondo State has not had a new road added to the network of roads in many years. The government keeps applying asphalt on the surface of dirt roads and  calls that road construction. Those roads become impassable within three years, the asphalt coat is washed away after a few rains.   Can we all revisit those roads completed by the Mimiko administrations? They are in deplorable states of disrepair now. This is a state that received combined income of about 90 billion Naira last year. For not thinking harder and not being circumspect in the way we choose our leaders, we have allowed the spate of development as started by visionaries like Pa Adekunle Ajasin to falter. The late Ajasin created industries and financed education of our youths. He ruled the state with single-minded devotion. We must return to that period if we must have a legacy of which our people can be proud.

    With your political experience, how do you think the APC will gain more support to retain power after the 2020 governorship election.

    This a good question and it has far more consequence for the APC than the people of our state. This is because it looks like the leadership of the party is toying with the idea that they can put a band aid on the festering wound in the Ondo State branch of the party. Their calculation seems to be that Akeredolu is going to have access into our state’s funds to bribe the electorate. Those of us in the concerned leadership group plan to embark on sensitisation of the people to this callous practice. We have done it in the past political dispensations in Ondo State and elsewhere in Yorubaland. In the contest against the National Democratic Party (DEMO) headed by Chief Akintola, the Action Group went to town with the slogan: “Bo r’owo mi o r’inu mi, Demo ni mo wa“. You only see my hands but not my heart, I am a member of the Democratic party.) The people went to vote for the Action group.  When the Action Group successor – the UPN came many years later, the people voted the UPN into power and moved to assert its victory on the street. Therefore, Ondo State people are not dummies. They are politically schooled and are determined to send Akeredolu back to his law practice in Ibadan. They know that Akeredolu’s heart is in Ibadan and not Ondo in state. He is merely using the state for his own selfish purpose.

    Having said this, the future of APC in Ondo state depends on how it handles the present crisis. If the APC as a party continues to vacillate and not institute a fair and credible settlement of the crisis, APC must then prepare to be a minority party in Ondo state. I personally wish this does not happen. However, politics is a game of numbers. Majority of the party cannot be on the outside looking in, while a coterie of friends continues to act as if they are our overlords.

    Do you ever believe in zoning system being promoted by some people?

    Let me begin by saying that ideologically, I am opposed to zoning, especially in a unit as limited as a state. A state comprising of less than four million should be able to put its best citizens forward for election and that citisens should work for the interest of the people. Unfortunately, zoning actually limits the prospective candidates to a narrow geographical area. As a reporter who covered the political beats in 1978/79, I helped to highlight the zoning formula which was introduced by the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN)was opposed to it. As a fact, I did a story on zoning by interviewing Umaru Dikko, Ibrahim Takuma, Remi Fani- Kayode and Adeyinka Adebayo – all of the NPN. They all had divergent views on zoning. While those from the North supported it, Adebayo and Fani-Kayode were not enthusiastic supporters. I then interviewed Josiah Olawoyin  of Kwara State who blasted the zoning formula as a way for a geographic area of the country to foist itself on the rest of the country. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was later to lend his weight on the side of the anti-zoning brigade. He posited that zoning was capable of imposing mediocrity and declared that he would work against zoning and national character with the last breath in him. It is therefore amusing to see avowed Awoists especially in the state and local governments advocating zoning.

    I want to point out without any contradictions that at the national level, zoning may be desirable as we have not moved from multi- ethnic country to a nation. In fact, nothing makes zoning at the national level to be compelling  than the current political situation in the country. But in the states where people are near homogenous, there is no need for zoning. Our politicians have even taken it to a ridiculous level where there are zoning formulas in the Local Governments. My fear is that soon, some would start to press that we zone according to streets. This is not healthy at all.

    Let us now relate this to Ondo State. It is the zoning arrangement that threw up Akeredolu in 2011 and 2016. This is because we allowed some leaders to gather together to dictate that the Northern Senatorial zone should produce the governor. That arrangement, which was never written in the party constitution, barred the rest of us more qualified people from the race. It became a question of personality and geography and never about competence. Now that the northern senatorial district will be completing one term of 4 years, the consensus is that the representative from the northern senatorial district- Akeredolu, is not worthy of a re-election. It is now time for qualified contestants from other districts such as the Central Senatorial district, to put their best foot forward. I am from the Central Senatorial District and I am the best candidate to send Akeredolu out of Alagbaka- the seat of government.

    You were the Director-General of Akeredolu Campaign Organisation during the failed 2012 governorship poll under the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Why did you leave to United States after the poor outing?

    With due respect to you, I think your first question is unfair. However, while I accept your skepticism about the 2012 outing, I have no iota of guilt feeling as regards your innuendo that someone who once worked tirelessly for Akeredolu’s ascendancy into the political office of Ondo State can now plan to run against him after just three years in office. Let me provide a brief background as to how I came to that point.

    When I returned from the United States in 2001, I joined the Alliance for Democracy (AD), which was a natural thing to do for those of us who were leaders of the pro-democracy groups abroad. I later became a commissioner under the AD’s administration headed by late Governor Adebayo Adefarati. After the Obasanjo-induced political tsunami, which swept all but one AD administration out of power in the west in 2003, I judged correctly that Obasanjo would do the same thing in 2007. What I did not count on was the emergence of Rahman Mimiko through the courts.  Mimiko who became the governor is from the Central Senatorial district like me. I decided to be a passive politician facing my business interests both in Nigeria and the United States.

    In 2010, I had the foresight to join and became the pioneering Chairman of the Congress for Political Change (CPC) founded by President, Muhammadu Buhari. In fact, my living room was the temporary secretariat of that party in Ondo State until Tunde Bakare donated money for payment towards leasing a permanent secretariat. The fight against corruption was the tipping point that brought me to the CPC. It should be noted that most of those closest to Buhari today in Yorubaland campaigned strenuously against him at every quarter. I was vilified for being with Buhari, whose name at that time was a taboo in the political lexicon of Yoruba politics. Yet, I put my resources on the line for the CPC and Buhari. However, with my sheer commitment and dedications, Buhari scored appreciable number of votes in Ondo State, despite the fact that he did not visit Ondo to campaign. I remember writing a memo to Pastor Tunde Bakare that Buhari was preaching to the choir by visiting and revisiting Northern towns and states. I advised that he should leave the North and focus more on the rest of the country, particularly the Southwest. He did not.

    You may be wondering what my explanation has to do with your question, which is my decision to back Akeredolu; and why I am now running against him. They are all connected in the sense that when I realised that Buhari only wanted a region to complement his hold on the Northern region, I rededicated myself to the affairs of Ondo State by helping to organise the party in the state. My calculation was that, even if Buhari would not win at the federal level, the CPC would have at least 11 to 12 governors from the North and thereby help in bolstering the national profile of the party party in the southern states, particularly my Ondo State. Unfortunately, only one governor scaled through in the north, and the rest of us could only watch in disappointment as voters in the north tore up their voters’ cards as soon as Buhari lost the presidential election. It was even more depressing as Buhari vacillated in dissuading voters in the north from destroying their voters’ cards. After the election, Prince Tony Momoh, the national chairman of CPC, inaugurated the committee of State Chairmen – each representing the six geo-political zones in the country, and charged us with the task of finding the way forward for the party. I represented the Southwest and I subsequently played a prominent role in the committee. The committee recommended that the CPC as a regional party, must merge with all other regional parties in the country if it must win election against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    After the Presidential election in 2011, I again started my quest to make Ondo a state that would be in the forefront of progressives development in the country. Rahman Mimiko was still in office. I decried how the state was being run by him. Projects were developed and executed on a whim and clearly designed to siphon funds from the state. For instance, the Owena dam which was completed under Agagu was not put into use; he then created a government department that was handing out borehole contracts like sweets to cronies and family members.  Since Mimiko and I are from the same Senatorial District, it would have been politically naïve to plan to succeed him. Therefore, backing a good candidate from other districts was the most politically viable alternative. The ACN became an alternative progressive party to use.

  • Kudos, knocks as governors hit first 100 days in office

    Varying degrees of kudos, knocks and controversies are greeting the state governors, old and new, as they mark their first 100 days in office on Saturday after their inauguration on May 29.

    Of note is the unceasing public spat between Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State and his predecessor, Senator Rochas Okorocha which took a twist last week after the governor called for the senator’s arrest of the senator.

    Ihedioha, a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, had been miffed by the assault of the Chairman of the Recovery of Government Properties in the state, Mr. Jasper Ndubuaku, by some youths while trying to invade a property of the former governor.

    The State government believes the youths were instigated by Okorocha.

    But the former governor declared that his successor would be inviting anarchy if anyone arrested him.

    The duo has been locked in a battle from day one when Ihedioha assumed office.

    The governor accused Okorocha of plundering the state and wanted the public assets allegedly stolen returned but the senator denied the allegations.

    He accused Ihedioha of vendetta.

    The state has been polarized along the pro-Okorocha and pro-Ihedioha lines. Youths, women and even traditional rulers have all joined in the political melee.

    The first action of the state government barely 24 hours after the governor was inaugurated, was the demolition of the Akachi Tower, built by the Okorocha’s administration as a tourist attraction centre.

    The action drew widespread condemnation from within and other side of the state and the government was forced to suspend further demolition of the structure and subsequently denied knowledge of the demolition.

    The state government also within its first three days constituted the Committee of Recovery of Stolen Government, which has running after Okorocha and his family.

    Another sore point for the state government is the destruction of some of the legacies of the former administration. On assumption, all landmarks and signage built by the previous administration were destroyed and replaced with new ones, street lights and iron crossbars used to beautify streets which dotted Owerri, the State capital were all removed amidst public outcry.

    Another action taken by the state government which attracted the ire of the people mostly were the sacking of elected Council Chairmen and Councillors, suspension of the salaries of workers recruited by the former governor at the twilight of his administration, as well as the revocation of all the land deals approved by the immediate past government.

    Although the state government is yet to commence full implementation of its programme and policies, as it claims to be clearing the mess of the previous administration but it has taken few steps that have been lauded by the people.

    Recently the state governor, flagged off N13 billion rural road project under RAMP, a World Bank assisted project, which has thrown the state into jubilation.

    Another high point of the incumbent government is the award of contracts for the construction of the critical roads across the state which is supposed to commence immediately after the rains.

    The state government has also received kudos for taken concerted steps to address environmental challenges in the state under its ‘Go Green, Stay Clean Initiative’.

    Under this initiative, the state government has commenced planting of trees and flowers and opening of blocked underground drainages and water channels.

    Okowa under pressure to meet voters’ expectations

    Some of the strident criticisms of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State have come from his own supporters in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

    One of them, Mr Godsday Orubebe, ex-minister of Niger-Delta Affairs, accused Okowa of marginalizing the Ijaw ethnic nationality in his government.

    He asked the governor to account for about N11.1 trillion which had accrued to the State’s coffers since his assumption of office in 2015.

    Okowa said  Orubebe’s outburst stemmed from his  refusal to appoint his nominee. He has also been faced with the protest of civil servants suspended from the Delta civil service in June 2015.

    The suspended civil servants gave the government a one month ultimatum

    The suspended worker’s vowed to shut down the state should Okowa fail to fulfill his promise of re-engaging them.

    Insecurity Enugu governor’s topmost priority

    The deteriorating security situation in Enugu State is top most in priority list of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi after his swearing on May 29 for his second tenure.

    The situation has made the governor become so restless and to constantly be on the road, visiting either the victims or the families of such dastardly acts, to sympathize or condole with them.

    Although overwhelming, the governor remains undaunted and tackles it with all his gubernatorial paraphernalia.

    Despite the media hype of rise in crime in the state, a critical assessment of Enugu State still places it as the safest state in Nigeria.

    Ugwuanyi recently gave to the police not fewer than 70 Hilux  vehicles, Sienna SUVs and other brands  for decoy operations. He as well pays monthly allowances to the operatives, provides fuel and other logistics  requirements for the agencies to perform.

    Worthy of note is that the governor himself sometimes leads patrol raids on criminal hideouts and dark spots at Obiagu Road, Ogui and Asata, notable  homes for drug dealers and users as well as other criminals.

    The governor had also  packaged an anti-kidnapping bill, which he sent to the State House of Assembly for legislation. He followed it up by giving directive for the recruitment of 1,700 forest guards to begin to patrol the bushes and thick forests of the state, to fish out these criminals from their hideouts.

    He had equally given directive, and had personally supervised, the clearing of bushes, particularly along the Awgu axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Express Way, identified as rendezvous for the criminals, and where killings and kidnappings had taken place in recent weeks.

    Hope dampens in Ogun without cabinet team

    Just 100 days in office, Governor Dapo Abiodun, the successful entrepreneur and oil magnate has continued to govern Ogun State without assembling his cabinet team or send the nominees to the Ogun State House of Assembly.

    The cabinet members are the executive officers of the government. They are to help formulate and drive the policy thrust of the government.

    At his inauguration on May 29 and shortly after, Governor Abiodun made many promises which include giving the state a focused and qualitative governance that would be  responsive, open and accountable to the people by pro – actively creating and promoting enabling environment for a public private sector partnership(PPP) required for rapid industrialisation and infrastructural developments.

    He also pledged to rehabilitate tens of roads across the state within the first 100 days.

    It is believed that the absence of cabinet members since May 29 could account for the drab and slow down of the pace of governance, and hampers  all efforts at pushing Governor’s agenda for the state through within target.

    Abiodun did declare that he would focus on development of agriculture and rural roads in order to increase the output of food and cash crops, create wealth for real farmers and ease the movement of farm produce to the markets within and outside the state while generating revenue but it is left to be seen how far this can come to reality in his first year with a commissioner not yet in place.

    Four days ago, the Governor inaugurated 17 – man steering Committee on Anchor Borrowers Scheme on Agriculture with Prof. Peter Adebola Okuneye as its Chairman, declaring that his administration’s quest for food security, food sufficiency and poverty alleviation could only be achieved through joint efforts in agriculture between state government and the people.

    Makinde making his mark already

    Governor Seyi Makinde was welcomed with a rousing support and massive goodwill when he was sworn in as the seventh civilian governor of Oyo State on May 29, 2019. He had won in 28 of the 33 local governments in the state in the March 9 election. In his first 100 days in office, the new governor has enjoyed largely good moments with some low moments.

    Before settling down, Makinde cancelled the N1,000 per term levy paid by public school pupils in the state. The decision, which was in fulfilment of his campaign promise, drew huge applause from many parents who had looked forward to his lofty ideas that he promised during campaign. However, the idea is still facing a challenge as it has led to the sacking of teachers and other support staff engaged by the schools and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).  But parents are still savouring the relief which the decision brought to them for now.

    Makinde also wormed himself into the hearts of the public by ordering a revisit of cases of civil servants sacked by the previous administration. He set up a committee to review the cases of affected persons with a firm promise to reabsorb them if they are found to have been wrongfully sacked. The committee has since been working hard to deliver on its mandate.

    If there is any area in which Makinde has excelled as governor, it is in the area of managing the coalition that produced his electoral victory. A lot of people had predicted failure for him in managing the gladiators in the coalition because all of them have public service experience unlike the governor. But Makinde has successfully managed the politicians to the level that every bloc in the alliance has been fairly rewarded. No discordant tune is coming from the coalition house as at now.

    The governor is currently a hero to civil servants for paying their salary on the 25th of every month. In line with his campaign promise, Makinde has successfully paid salaries on 25th of his first three months in office. Teachers, civil servants and retirees have encomiums for the governor on this feat. Prompt payment of salaries enables them plan on their income and meet financial obligations at the right time.

    Perhaps the action that has boosted Makinde’s fame most is his asset declaration which he made public. With his companies alone worth N48 billion and other highly priced properties and cash, Makinde caused a storm on Twitter and other social media when he made his asset declaration public. He was later adjudged the richest governor in Africa going by his declared assets. Based on the controversy his assets generated, the Director of the Code of Conduct Bureau in Oyo State, Mr Moses Atolagbe, had to make a public statement that the bureau was waiting for directive from the agency’s head office to verify Makinde’s claims.

    Umahi hits ground running with new legacy projects

    Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi after he was sworn in a second term hit the ground running immediately with his appointment of Principal Officers and Attorney General. This was quickly followed by the appointment of Special Assistants and some boards.

    Commissioners were subsequently appointed in July, screened by the State House of Assembly and sworn in.

    Even before the appointment of the Commissioners, government activities never slowed down even for a day as Umahi charged the Permanent Secretaries to ensure that work continued as usual on their different Ministries and Departments.

    Construction work on numerous roads and other projects both new and ongoing ones have never stopped. Some of the projects include the Ebonyi Glass Tunnel, said to be the first of its kind in the state, the Ebonyi Shopping mall, the Eguhuo bridge in Ishielu Local government, the Author Eze fly over named after the popular Anambra Business man which will go and down on record as the fastest fly over to be completed in the country. Work on the flyover began in November last year and have already been completed as car have already started plying the road.

    However, the State was hit by an outbreak of yellow fever in Izzi local government area. The outbreak reportedly claimed some lives in a remote village before it was detected.

    The State Ministry of Health quickly moved in with support from the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to control the outbreak. Infected persons were immediately evacuated to the National Virology Centre built by the State Government in Governor Umahi’s first term were they were treated.

    Ayade completes 23 megawatts power plant

    Within the first 100 days of his second term,Governor  Ben Ayade of Cross River State completed a 23 megawatts power plant, which according to him means 24-hour electricity for residents of Calabar. Unveiling the project in Calabar, he had described it as a dream come true, saying it would provide power to residents at an affordable cost.

    Although many residents in the state are yet to see the electricity, it has still been commended as a good move. However, some people seem bothered that the details of the arraignment of switching from the national grid to a different source of power have not been properly explained.

    Also despite the financial status of the state, it has still been consistent with payment of salaries in his second term.

    Among some issues that have earned the governor some knocks, since beginning his second term, include his seeming unwillingness to conduct local government elections in the state.

    Another issue that has been a low point for the governor has been his intention build a cargo airport in his home local government area of Obudu, as various persons have risen against what they described as arbitrary land grab for the proposed project.

    Critics also feel that it was quite strange that he would want to embark on such a huge project that looks like a waste.

    Similarly, the governor’s move to acquire 9000 hectares of land across the state had pitched him against the people. The governor who has already set up a committee to go about the acquisition had, quite vaguely, said the said land was meant for agricultural purposes.

    Education topping Ganduje’s second term agenda

    Within the past 100 days, Ganduje has made tremendous waves in the education sector, declaring free and compulsory education for primary and secondary school pupils and students.

    He has, as well, succeeded in working out modalities to ensure that the Almajiri system of education is built into the conventional Western education learning curriculum, designed to take the Almajiris off the street as beggars and also give them sound and adequate education that can equal them to other school children in terms of access to quality and qualitative education.

    To further ensure that parents allow their children to enrol in school. Ganduje has sent a bill to the State House of Assembly, seeking for a law that will back up to arrest and prosecution of parents who refused to take their children to school. The bill also supports the arrest of school-age children roaming the streets begging or hawking during school hours.

    Ganduje directed the First Class Emirs across the state to take record of parents and guardians who refused to send their wards to school and forward their names to the State government for appropriate action.

    His efforts have attracted interest from the governments of Egypt and the United States of America which recently indicated interest to partner with Kano state government to make the project a huge success.

    Within the last 100 days, Ganduje has also been able to set up a Committee that will see to the establishment of one of the largest RUGA settlement in Africa. He said he took the step to contribute his quota in putting to rest the controversy generated by the Federal Government RUGA proposal across the country; make the Fulani herdsmen economically viable; boost Kano’s economic potentials; end the farmers/herders clash and as well modernize the cattle rearing and insemination business.

    Abians disagree over Ikpeazu’s 100 days

    Abians have expressed   worries over the inability of the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu led government to formally constitute his cabinet after 100 days in office.

    While a cross-section of Abians who spoke to our reporter in Umuahia and Aba said that nothing has been achieved by the incumbent administration in the state, others believed that the government of the day has fared beyond their expectation especially in the area of infrastructure.

    According to some of the respondents, the inability of the governor to constitute his cabinet shows that the government is not yet ready for serious business.

    A resident   Mr. Gilbert Ofor said: “This is his second term and the final lap of his 8years in office as the governor of the state and should not toil with it. This is not a time to compensate people for the roles that they played in his re-election for second term.

    “Ikpeazu should shop for the best hands; people who understand where his visions for the state. People that will help him leave his footprints in the sands of time.

    “Ikpeazu should understand how hard the Ngwa nation fought to get the opportunity to govern the state. It might not be that easy again as far as I am concerned. What are the areas that he hasn’t performed better? He should look at the areas that he has equally performed well and see how he can consolidate on the gains recorded.

    But for Ifeanyi Magnus, the Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration doesn’t have anything to show within the last 100 days.

    He said: “What are we celebrating? I am sure that if the government in the state will be fair enough to themselves and stop brandishing all the lies that they have been dishing out, it will serve them a good deal.

    The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Abia State chapter in a statement by its Publicity Secretary Eeber Uzoukwa, lambasted Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu on the first 100 days of his second tenure, accusing his government of celebrating backwardness and failures of first tenure that include projects abandonment, non-payment of workers emoluments and pensions.

    According to Uzoukwa some of governor’s failures include “the abandoned Osisioma Fly-Over, a conduit pipe with which the governor and his surrogates have so far used to siphon about 5 Billion Naira from the treasury of Abia State, the destruction rather than construction of Obikabia-Umuobiakwa-Ururuka Road (the road leading to the governor’s house/village), the invisible Enyimba Economic City, the non-existent Abia Shoe Factory and the destroyed but abandoned Abiriba-Nkporo road.

    El-Rufai hits the ground running

    Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of Kaduna State wasted no time in pursing his second term agenda.

    That is however not to say that, the journey has been smooth, but the challenges seem surmountable.

    Exactly 44 days after returning to office, El-Rufai constituted his cabinet and warned the commissioners that any of them that fails to perform would be fired.

    El-Rufai also commenced the implementation of his administration’s plan to rejuvenate and strengthen the public service, through recruitment, to inject competent, young people to drive the public service.

    The recruitment according to him, seeks to advance the goals of the public service reform and revitalisation programme, which include injecting younger and more competent persons into the public service.

    “One of the most important reforms we started in the first-term is the Public Service Reform and Revitalisation Project. One of its major objectives is to strengthen the public service by injecting into its ranks our younger, well-educated, IT-compliant and competent personnel. This goal will be actualised, by the grace of God.

    “We shall be recruiting more teachers, health workers, administrative officers and other professionals into the public service. Vacant positions in the public service will continue to be advertised. Public service jobs will be available, but only on merit, not ethnicity, religion or as a result of cronyism.” He said.

    Aside recruitment, Governor El-Rufai has equally flagged-off Urban Renewal Project, which has construction of new roads and upgrading existing ones as its core idea. The project which was kicked off with the ground breaking and signing of contract for the construction of a N3.9bn Kaduna Galaxy Mall, has 14 components including roads, mass transit, housing, improved land use, street lights, parks and recreational centres, markets, neighbourhood centres and waste management.

  • Helicopter deployment ongoing over insecurity – Police

    The Nigeria Police Force has said the aerial surveillance launched to effectively curb the rate of crime in some parts of the country is ongoing.

    The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu ordered the deployment of aerial surveillance helicopters in major cities in the South-West and North-West.

    The announcement of the deployment contained in a statement in Abuja last week by the Force Spokesman, DCP Frank Mba stated that the Police Air Wing Operational Base in Abuja would cater for Abuja-Kaduna highways and the neighbouring states in the North-West and North-Central.

    Read Also: Police arrest ‘armed robber’ at church’s retreat

    The new base in Ondo State, according to the statement, is also to cater for the neighbouring states and highways straddling the South-West.

    Speaking to The Nation on the extent to which the deployment had gone, Mba said: “The aerial surveillance as announced by the Force headquarters is ongoing.”

    Mba however kept mum on the number of helicopters so far deployed.

    A Police source, who spoke on the deployment, told The Nation that the Police leadership might not comment much on the deployment to avoid sabotage.

    He said: “It is a security operation. The only reason why I think a statement was put out to announce it was to avoid a situation where citizens would think something terrible is happening. The Police wanted to avoid scenarios where people would be thinking and raising false alarm that the helicopters are going round to drop weapons for bandits or kidnappers.

    “So the statement by the force headquarters was to inform citizens of police upcoming activity and to avoid cases of panic.

  • 10,000 Police Job: PSC to decide fate of candidates this week

    The Police Service Commission (PSC), has disclosed that it will meet this week to take a decision on the recruitment of 10,000 Nigerians into the Constable cadre of the Nigeria Police Force.

    The process which had reached the final stage was last week suspended by the Commission in a statement.

    The Commission in a statement in Abuja on Sunday by its Spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani however assured applicants that the exercise will be concluded soon adding that the names of successful candidates would be released.

    It also stated that the dates for medical screening for successful candidates from the aptitude test held on August 3rd, 2019 will be announced after the meeting this week.

    READ ALSO: 10,000 police jobs: PSC shortlists 80,724 for aptitude test

    Ani said: “Applicants are advised not to panic or be agitated as the exercise is under control and in progress. The Commission wishes to State that the recruitment exercise is on course and has not been abandoned.”

    The Commission also noted that it will continue to carry the Nigeria Police Force and other stakeholders in the Police sector along in the recruitment process in order to ensure that the exercise remains merit driven, transparent and according to the laws and rules and regulations guiding the Public Service.

  • LASG will support ICAN to ensure accountability, transparency, says Sanwo-Olu

    Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has pledged to continue to collaborate with the Nigeria Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, to ensure accountability and transparency in the state’s financial dealings.

    Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, made the pledge when the governing council and members of ICAN led by its vice president, Dame Mrs. Onome Joy Adewuyi, paid a courtesy visit to the governor at Alausa at the weekend.

    Sanwo-Olu told the delegation that the state government aligns with the accountability index and “it is also very important for citizens out there to know what we are doing.

    “That is the only way they can align with the government. We want people to pay more taxes and if they see what we are doing and it is transparent, the possibility is there that they will pay their taxes voluntarily.” He added that “this type of index will help us to explain and it is done by ICAN.”

    Read Also: Sanwo-olu assures private investors of enabling environment

    He also assured ICAN that the government takes capacity building of its staff seriously and that is why its workforce, particularly accountants and auditors, will fully participate in the forth-coming 49th ICAN conference slated for September.

    Speaking earlier, Mrs. Adewuyi, who represented the president of ICAN, Mazi Nnamdi Okwuandigbo, while praying for strength and wisdom for the governor to take the state to a greater height, commended Sanwo-Olu for his THEMES programme for the state.

    According to Okwuandigbo, “the THEMES agenda convincingly captures the critical sectors that any forward looking administration should commit itself to.”

    He added that the governor’s executive order to curb flooding, tackle traffic gridlock and issues of waste management barely 24 hours after assumption of office goes a long way to demonstrate his commitment to achieving results. “We pray that at the end of the day we will all witness a greater Lagos,” he prayed.

    He solicited support of the state government in the forthcoming 49th conference of ICAN while also offering to collaborate with the state government in organising in-house training for accountants and other allied functionaries of the state.

  • Abiodun: Depression, an offshoot of unsound mind 

    Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has attributed the spate of depression, which is the instigator of the increasing suicide cases in the society, to “unsound mind” and advised that people should undergo regular physical fitness to ensure optimal mental functioning.

    The governor spoke on Saturday at the inauguration and swearing-in ceremony of the new executive members of Abeokuta Sports Club.

    The ceremony also witnessed the investiture of Abiodun as the grand patron of the club.

    Speaking shortly after his investiture, he reiterated his administration’s commitment towards ensuring an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

    Read Also: We’ll keep facilitating partnership for joint ventures, says Abiodun

    He also disclosed that his administration was poised to turn around the economy of the state for the better, which, according to him, would contribute to the development of individual prosperity of the people of the state.

    The governor noted that he was not unaware of the contributions of individuals and organisations such as Abeokuta Sports Club to the development of the state, saying his administration would not disappoint the people of the state in entrenching good governance.

    Abiodun underscored the importance of recreation as one of the basis for good health.”But, we also appreciate the fact that people cannot be prosperous without having wholesome health.

    And, healthy living is not just about medication and diets. Recreation is a vital part of healthy living.

    “We will continue to support all genuine enterprises by individuals and or organisations, like Abeokuta Sports Club, that provide legitimate and viable means of recreation to our people.”

    The governor appreciated members of the club for the support they gave him during his campaign and solicited for more support for his administration.

    The president of the club, Deacon Atilade Bolarinwa, in his address, pledged that the club would continue to contribute to sports development in the state through organising and sponsoring of various sports competitions for both young and the old.

  • Police release 123 arrested Jigawa indigenes after profiling

    The 123 indigenes of Jigawa state arrested on Friday in a truck at Agege with 48 motorcycles by the State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offenses (Task force) were on Saturday released by the Lagos State Police Command.

    They were handed over immediately to the police for profiling after arrest but according to a report from POLISADMIN, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bala Ikhana, said after profiling of the men, nothing incriminating was found on them and they were released.

    Read Also: Paul Okoye slams Nigerian police

    He said the suspicion and subsequent interception of the truck arose from the manner they came in, in large number sardined in a truck, adding that most of them were living in Lagos and went homes for the Eid-l-kabir celebration.

    According to a statement by Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso,  the interception on Friday by the task force was a proactive step to protect the state against any external attack.

    The task force, headed by Mr. Olayinka Egbeyemi a Chief Superintendent of Police, had said the men were arrested following a tip off by members of the public, who allegedly raised security concerns about the manner in which the occupants of the truck conducted themselves.

  • Borno deplores military’s counterinsurgency tactics

    Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States have borne the brunt of the Boko Haram insurgency. But Borno is the epicentre of the revolt. During the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, they state’s elite complained that the military was tackling the revolt incompetently and insensitively. At the time, the insurgents were numbered approximately 5,000, and the military made heavy weather of defeating them. Dr Jonathan, however, gave short shrift to the murmuring Borno elite, a response that met with derision among top northern politicians and elders.

    More than four years down the line, and with Boko Haram fighters degraded to approximately two thousand, the battle has still not been won despite the semantic gymnastics of the government; and Borno elite are still grumbling. President Muhammadu Buhari, who had once complained under the Dr Jonathan presidency that the then government was tackling the revolt incompetently, is now president, and has been in office for more than four years. Last week, a group of Borno residents loudly complained that Boko Haram had not been defeated, and worse, that the military’s tactics was incompetent and abominable.

    As expected, the residents got short shrift. Their governor, Babagana Zulum, had earlier also deplored the military’s tactics, describing it as ineffective. Both the governor and the grumbling residents have made suggestions that appear sensible. The military may want to give them a hearing. Sometime ago, the government had announced that Boko Haram was degraded as a fighting force, which was probably true; had been technically defeated, which left room for diverse interpretations; and had been defeated with not an inch of Nigerian territory under the control of the insurgents, which was an exaggeration. Now, residents of the state have given the country an alternative account of the state of the war, insisting that the president was being misinformed and the public hoodwinked. It is difficult to fault them.

    If the government can be persuaded to eschew language misapplication, it should forthrightly address the apprehensions of the people of Borno. Boko Haram was inspired by irresponsible north-eastern elite, misjudged and mismanaged by the government, and may now, according to some Borno residents, be exploited by the military. The military cannot persuade Nigerians that they were unable to defeat a rag-tag guerrilla force of about five thousand men, not to talk of convince anyone that today some remnant two thousand insurgents can effectively procure a stalemate against them.

    Borno is bleeding, and with them the country too. It is a cruel tactics to hope to outlast Boko Haram. What if they refuse to be exhausted? What if they are enjoying the macabre game? The cost to the country in human toll and financial resources is gargantuan and unbearable. It is time to end this insurgency in the hope that the country can deploy financial and ideological resources to combat the other ‘insurgencies’ overtaking the country. It is also time the Nigerian military tried to regain some of their prestige lost in the war, stanch the flow of blood among their troops, and restore the country to some normality. Surely the Buhari presidency is capable of rethinking the insurgency.

  • 1619: A family reunion long overdue

    Much of the world recently commemorated the 400th anniversary of the importation of over 20 enslaved Africans to the English North American colony of Virginia. This sad event is being observed as if it was the start of the transatlantic slave trade in North America. As with most historical events that officialdom inserts into popular lore the claim that this event launched the slave trade soil is wholly inaccurate. Spanish conquistadors brought with them to Florida in the 1560s a complement of Africans as human pack animals, more than a half century before the forlorn enslaved Angolans were auctioned in Virginia’s Jamestown. I guess the English speakers of North America and the United Kingdom believe that they must be considered the authors of everything that is important, no matter how contemptuous that ting might be. Even while purporting to attack racial prejudice they cannot help but reveal their brand of supremacism.

    Here, I must tender an admission before proceeding further. I write this piece somewhat reluctantly; I had convinced myself not to broach this subject. Yet, in reading much of what was being broadcasted for public consumption about this commemoration, I noticed something vital was missing. There was little human content in the discussion of what is perhaps the most protracted evil in the annals of human history. This great misery was being treated as a historical abstraction, as something that happened too far in the past to really belong to our consciousness of the present.

    The subtle theme underlying the commemoration has been that today’s world, because it eschews legalized slavery, is morally superior to that of the past. To a certain degree, this assertion is unassailable. We have moved away from much of the past’s barbarity. However, we must also acknowledge that we and the world we occupy are children of that past. Even after four centuries, the evil then wrought has not yet run its course.

    It is unfortunate but true that the effects of any good we do are constricted in space and time. The good we perform barely survives the day. While the evil that man performs outlives him. It erects strong monuments difficult to overthrow.

    We cannot separate ourselves from the past by deeming ourselves morally superior to it. To think such folly is to entice ourselves toward new and additional evils; few things are more dangerous than the self-righteous man who sees good in his every thought and action, no matter how devious or cruel. For instance, how could one of the most notorious slave vessels of the 16th century be christened Saint John the Baptist? These peopled were blind to the horrid incongruity of naming their barge of degradation after the herald of the Messiah who, incidentally, came to earth to set man free. John baptized with water to wash away people’s sin. These men sinned by baptizing Africans into abject misery. Yet, the times baptized the hypocrites into immense wealth and power such that they not only lived their own heaven on earth, bit that they would be able to steer their ship to heaven in the afterlife as well. Few slavers went to their death beds with regret or remorse in dread of the awful thing they had done. They felt accumulation of wealth signaled the manifold blessings of their Creator. That their wealth was stained with the blood and tears of others seemed not to matter. They regarded God as a merchant and heaven as a location where plots were for sale to the highest bidders. In this as in many other regards, we are children of the lies of the past and no its truths.

    Enough about the slaver! He did as he wished and thus has received his reward. The more compelling account is to find out what became of the enslaved who was forced to suffer what he must. I am of this stock; thus, I shall speak for him as a means of speaking for myself.

    I was taken from this continent but I know not the exact locale of my forced departure. I know not the date or season in which my trip begin except to surmise it must have been a sad occasion. One would think the date for such a momentous trip would have been registered in the family album. Herein, lies a problem. I know not the name of the family from which I came. Had they a family album, I know not what became of it.

    Forget the album, I don’t even know what happened to my family. Fared they well without me? Did they lament? Who comforted my crying mother? Who explained things to my puzzled my father? Did they parent another child to take my place? Were they also taken? Perhaps they came to the plantation just down the road or in adjacent county. I don’t know the answers and I will never know them. Slavery and time have erased those things that normally connect a person to a special place and unique people.

    I was stripped of my native clothes and all outward signs of human dignity. In the process of the slavers taking these things from me, I discovered I did not need them to be who I am. They wrenched my heritage from me. Yet, I did not sink. I created another heritage from the scraps of food and chards of wood I was allowed. The enslaver’s greater physical power and penchant for unspeakable brutality may have dictated what labors I performed at his violent behest. But he could not dictate who I was. I defined myself regardless of the shackles on my leg and arms.

    Every time he whipped me, my skin broke as did my spirit but only for a moment. The pain was such that no human can long suffer it without pleading for the deluge of blows to end. When the sense of death is imminent, thoughts focus solely on survival and you will surrender to say what the enslaver wants you to say when you are suffering under the duress of the whip. The forced confession they beat out of you is by its nature a false thing but it still damages your sense of self that they would made you say that which you don’t want to say. You feel as if you lost a bit of yourself, as if a piece of our soul was cast upon a cruel wind. However the next hour, the next day, the next week, the next something, your spirit and mind repair themselves unto defiance. You think once more of freedom.

    Slavery has done many things to me. Some I will not tell because ugliness makes them unspeakable. However, slavery has taught me a valuable lesson. The rich and powerful can amass fortunes and arsenals but no human can own my soul, no matter how lowly I might be. Thus, every lash of the slaver brought me closer to an inner freedom than no mortal hand can steal.

    My freedom was preordained by the very dynamics of the evil system set against me. My task thus is not to seek vengeance or retribution; the architects of this evil system surely met a much higher form of justice than I could render. My greatest task is to keep in constant recall the harsh sensation of being on the victim’s end of the cruel lash even when I am no longer subject to the lash. I remember its sting not in anger but as the call of justice and compassion.

    Let me always remember this thing so that I am never tempted to subject another person or people to what happened to me. My enslaver gave me an unintended gift, a sense and love of humanity he will never know or understand because this thing I hold is born of long suffering.

    This brings us to what Martin Luther King sought when he spoke of integration. For him, integration was not just some mechanistic legalism where members of different races could frequent the same diner or hold the same jobs. Integration was not simply for black people to enter mainstream society with no questions asked other than can we attend the same movie theatre. Something is materially off kilter with a society that enslaves millions of people for centuries then, for good measure, places them for another 100 years under a system of racial oppression that served as the blueprint of apartheid.

    King believed that the formerly enslaved black American was not to join society, seeking merely to act like whites in black face. Blacks had something precious to add to soften the ways of a hate-filled, herrenvolk society. We had our memories of the lash and what it was to be oppressed for no legitimate reason. America had grown to be the most powerful nation but it lacked the soul and humility required to temper and restrain that great power so that it would be placed to the best use. Black people were to inject into American society the higher morality born of the lowly slave, according to King.

    For a time, this seemed to happen. Black America was the most anti-war, socially progressive segment of society. We raised our voice against injustice at home and afar. Then something happened. As black leaders were allowed into the mainstream power structure, they forget the lessons of the lash. During the past few decades, black leaders have become indistinguishable from rest of the power structure in their passion for war and dismantling weaker nations populated by dark-skinned people.

    They have surrendered high principle for the scent of power amidst personal advancement. Money and influence have afflicted them with amnesia regarding their own history. No longer fearing the lash, they now rejoice in setting it against others. Unless this group of leaders change heart, King and those like him have died in vain.

    For them King is nothing but a nice poster to view in fake reverence when ordinary people are watching but to quickly ignore when in the gatherings of power. These black American leaders protest against racism at home only because such demonstrations profit their individual ambitions for higher office. However, they remain silent to the imbalances of American foreign policy regarding black people in Africa and the Caribbean. They care nothing for black people abroad because those blacks cannot vote for them. This reveals their concern for black Americans is not one of love but of utility, much the same way one is concerned about the fidelity of the hammer he wields while trying to drive a stubborn nail. Once the job is performed, one does not give the hammer a better home. It is merely returned to its original place. Once they cast their votes, black Americans are similarly handled.

    In large part because of the venality of our leaders, black Americans have lost ground the past two decades. Black elected officials have gained more prominence but the average black family has lost wealth over the same time span. These two facts appear inconsistent but they are of the same accord. Consumed by their pursuit of personal riches and glory, black politicians can countenance the doing of any evil that profits them, even if that evil befalls their own brethren. Fine watches and jewelry now rest where gruesome manacles once were. Yet these purported leaders are more slavish than their ancestors ever were. Unlike their ancestors, they did this to themselves. They forfeited their souls for a title, for membership in an exclusive club, and for a chance to appear on CNN. They have little right to celebrate 1619; today, they function more like the children of the enslaver than the children of the enslaved.

    Because of their abdication of duty, black America no longer restrains the martial impulses of their nation. America has become more warlike, endangering itself and much of the planet in the process. With armed troops stationed in over 100 countries, it currently is fighting several wars and seeing to start new ones on at least two different continents. King and his ilk would have railed against such wanton bellicosity. Today’s black leadership revels in it, lending their voices to the lust for war.

    This is why a black president could be persuaded by his hectoring, self-absorbed secretary of state to war against Libya although that African nation presented no threat. When towns inhabited mostly by peaceful black Libyans were decimated by the terrorists they supported, neither that black president nor any other black leader raised an eyebrow. Instead, they turned the blind eye. They abetted the transformation of a once stable nation into a modern day slave market of black Africans yet have not lifted a finger to correct this wrong they committed. They fail even to acknowledge this travesty. They dare feign sober commemoration of slavery 400 year ago when they are the engineers of African slavery in the here and now. Currently two black senators are campaigning for their party’s presidential nomination. Not one of them has the courage to speak against the machines of war. Even if they win the contest, they have lost something greater.

    Enough with these black enslavers. I save my last and better thoughts for my ancestors. I write to them through time under the assumption they have learned how to read and are not prohibited from doing so where they now reside.

    “They robbed me of your name and the name of your people in hope that I might forget you. Their game failed. I remember you every day and thank you for having the resilience to survive the long ordeal; without your fortitude, I do not exist.  Any shame you felt at being enslaved and forced to suffer untold suffering is misplaced. I, along with millions, wear you proudly.

    I often imagine us sitting at kitchen table or under a tree. So many things I have to ask you; but first I would simply ask your name that I may address you with the respect that you have earned. You would recount how you were taken from home. I could hopefully comfort you by letting you know that they very idea of you was what led me to return to Africa of my own volition. Together, we form an unbroken chain that has come full circle. In fact, we have broken what tried to break us.

    This would be quite a family reunion! But it will have to wait awhile; there are things I have yet to achieve in this life before I deserve such a sitting with you.

    If I could somehow amass and lay at your feet all the riches of the world to compensate for the depravations suffered, it would not begin to repay what I owe you. You likely would gently chastise me and not accept such a gift anyway because you know the pursuit of great riches is often the producer of even greater evils. Indeed, the debt I owe you is not to forget. I remember you for it gives me the courage to stand for that which is right and good no matter how widely disdained. I stand away from that which is wrong no matter how powerful or popular it might be.

    From you, I have learned the world can try to intimidate me with hate and the rage of hate yet I have the innate capacity to remain unmoved by the onslaught. The love of my people and all that is good in humanity is powerful indeed. Hate and evil may win the battle even for what seems to be the longest time. But, ah, if we hold true to what is best in us, we have won the war from its very outset despite the hardships that may follow.”

    To me, this is how to commemorate those who were enslaved. We do so not by some sterile official pronouncement quickly made, then more quickly shelved but as a living memory that nourishes and guides us come what may.

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